Department for Transport

Ukraine

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what personnel or aircraft support the Government has recently provided following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July 2014.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The initial investigation into the loss over eastern Ukraine of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with 298 passengers and crew onboard was supported by the Department’s Air Accident Investigation Branch, and they continue to play a part in the ongoing accident investigation. The Dutch authorities are now conducting a criminal investigation into the exact causes of the incident. The UK remains ready to support the Dutch authorities in their work. Our officials have also been closely involved in work by the International Civil Aviation Organisation to allow sharing of information about the risks of overflying conflict zones. This work will be concluded in the coming months.

Mobile Phones

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the results of the most recent mobile telephone usage survey will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Results from the 2014 mobile phone usage survey commissioned by the Department will be published on 25th February 2015 at 9:30 a.m. on the Department’s website. The results will provide estimates of the levels of hand held mobile phone use by drivers in England and Scotland.

Home Office

Police and Crime Commissioners

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) total cost and (b) cost in each principal category of expenditure was of the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in 2012; and in which months of 2012 costs for each of the principal items were incurred.

Mike Penning: Holding answer received on 14 January 2015



By introducing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), we have given everyone a direct say in policing in their area. PCCs are delivering a level of transparency, visibility and accountability that did not exist before 2012 under the invisible and unaccountable model of police authorities that preceded them. The total cost of the national PCC elections in November 2012 was £66.8 million. This comprised:- • £59.8 million for administering the elections – the breakdown of when this expenditure occurred will be placed in the House Library;• £3.4million spent by the Home Office on promotional activity in March 2013; and • £3.6 million that the Electoral Commission spent on mailing booklets. The Home Office does not hold information on when these costs were incurred. As the figures show, this expenditure occurred between February 2013 and March 2014.

Vetting

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidelines her Department provides for timescales for completing a disclosure and barring check.

Karen Bradley: The current Disclosure and Barring Service service standard is to issue 88% of all Disclosures within 40 working days. The latest published data for the year to date (covering April –November 2014) shows that 95.9% of disclosures were issued within this timeframe.

Vetting

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is provided to police forces on timescales for responses to referrals from the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley: Service Level Agreements (SLAs) between the Disclosure and Barring Service and each local police force set out the following service standards:• 85% of police checks must be completed in 14 days;• 90% of police checks must be completed in 18 days;• 95% of police checks must be completed in 25 days; and• 100% of police checks must be completed in 60 days.

Drugs: Smuggling

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help the Northern Ireland Executive and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to tackle drug smuggling in Northern Ireland.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Miscarriages of Justice

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 26 June 2014, Official Report, column 35W, on potential miscarriages of justice, what progress Mark Ellison has made in his review; and how many cases have been referred to the Criminal Cases Review Commission for its consideration of whether cases should be referred to the appellate courts.

Mike Penning: Mr Ellison is reviewing cases in line with the terms of reference that Home Secretary published on 26 June 2014. He is intending to provide a progress report to the Attorney General by the end of March 2015. In the meantime it would be inappropriate for me to comment while this Review is ongoing.

Asylum: Syria

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to encourage local authorities to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radicalism

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the fifth bullet point of paragraph 301 of the Report of the Task Force on Tackling Radicalisation and Extremism, published in December 2013, how many people have been excluded since that recommendation was made.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Visits Abroad

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which people, excluding Ministers and Diplomats, have represented the Government at inaugurations abroad since May 2010; and what the cost was of that representation in each such case.

Mr Hugo Swire: Invitations to attend the inaugurations of new foreign and Commonwealth Heads of State are considered on a case by case basis. The FCO does not hold a central list of those who have attended inaugurations either as an official UK representative or in a private capacity.The requested information is not, therefore, available without incurring disproportionate cost.

Christianity

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent of persecution of Christians in (a) Nigeria and (b) Iran.

Mr David Lidington: Freedom of religion or belief is a key human rights priority for this Government. We regularly urge governments at senior levels to uphold the rights of all, including Christians. We work to build international consensus on freedom of religion or belief in multilateral bodies such as the UN, and support practical projects with civil society and faith groups. In Nigeria the two main religions, Christianity and Islam, have a history of tolerance and coexistence. Boko Haram are attempting to challenge Nigeria’s secular state and democratic constitution by attacking all Nigerians who do not follow their extremist and intolerant views. Their activities, which do not command widespread support, have caused immense suffering in both Muslim and Christian communities. We are committed to playing our part in helping Nigeria combat these extremists. In Iran, we are disappointed that comments made by President Rouhani in 2013 in support of the rights of religious minorities have not brought any change in his government’s approach over the past year. Christians, although recognised under Iranian law, have continued to be persecuted. Evangelical Christians, Iranian converts to Christianity and those involved in house churches have found themselves particularly singled out for harassment and arrest. The UK has repeatedly called on the Iranian government to end all persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, and to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians.

Sri Lanka

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his new Sri Lankan counterpart on protecting the Tamil and Muslim minority communities; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire: On 9 January the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), congratulated Maithripala Sirisena on his victory in the Presidential elections, and also encouraged President Sirisena to support the ongoing UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights investigation into human rights abuses. The issues of the past must be addressed so Sri Lanka can move forward to a brighter, peaceful future where all Sri Lankans can play a role. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said that Sri Lanka has a renewed opportunity now to grow as a stable, prosperous and inclusive country, reflecting the wishes of all its people. I personally spoke to the new Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 12 January and made clear that we look forward to working with the new government and reinvigorating the long standing partnership between the UK and Sri Lanka. We will continue to engage with the new Sri Lankan government on the concern of minority communities.

Nigeria

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise at the UN the recent killings by Boko Haram in Baga and surrounding villages in Nigeria.

Mr Hugo Swire: The UK fully supports the statements made by the United Nations Secretary-General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights which strongly condemned the recent killing of civilians by the terrorist group Boko Haram in Baga, Nigeria. Boko Haram continues to wreak havoc across North East Nigeria, causing suffering in communities of different faiths and ethnicities. As I set out in my answer to the Honourable Member for Brent Central (Sarah Teather)'s Urgent Question on 12 January (Hansard Column 601), the UK has taken an active role in leading international support to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram, alongside other international partners, including the UN. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) also discussed the situation with Secretary Kerry on 15 January 2015.

Nigeria

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many incidents caused by Boko Haram in Nigeria involved British citizens in the last five years.

Mr Hugo Swire: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 January 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Five British nationals have reported their involvement in incidents caused by Boko Haram. However, we believe that more than 4,000 people were killed last year by Boko Haram, primarily in north-east Nigeria, but also in terrorist attacks throughout the country. The United Nations estimates that more than 1.5 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram’s terrorist activities.As reflected in Travel Advice, terrorist groups in Nigeria, including Boko Haram, continue to pose a significant threat to British nationals and British interests in parts of the country. We believe that the terrorist group Ansaru are responsible for the murder of at least nine foreign hostages, including two British nationals in separate incidents in Nigeria in 2012 and in 2013. The UK has made clear our commitment to standing by Nigeria in its fight against terrorism.

James Duddridge: Five British nationals have reported their involvement in incidents caused by Boko Haram. However, we believe that more than 4,000 people were killed last year by Boko Haram, primarily in north-east Nigeria, but also in terrorist attacks throughout the country. The United Nations estimates that more than 1.5 million people have been displaced by Boko Haram’s terrorist activities.As reflected in Travel Advice, terrorist groups in Nigeria, including Boko Haram, continue to pose a significant threat to British nationals and British interests in parts of the country. We believe that the terrorist group Ansaru are responsible for the murder of at least nine foreign hostages, including two British nationals in separate incidents in Nigeria in 2012 and in 2013. The UK has made clear our commitment to standing by Nigeria in its fight against terrorism.

Northern Ireland Office

Police Service of Northern Ireland

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of changes to the budget of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on frontline policing.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: I am in regular contact with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland to ensure that we understand the impact of funding reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive on the PSNI’s ability to deliver frontline policing. The recent Stormont House Agreement includes an undertaking by Executive parties to ensure that the PSNI budget, including the community policing budget, is protected from significant reductions.This Government has provided additional security funding of £231m to support PSNI in their efforts to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism. This funding is not affected by the budget reductions imposed by the Northern Ireland Executive.

Drugs: Smuggling

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to help the Northern Ireland Executive and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to tackle drug smuggling in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: It is now critical that there is agreement on extending the full remit of the National Crime Agency to Northern Ireland. The failure to do so has meant that the PSNI have had to dedicate precious resources to combating serious and organised crimes such as drug smuggling, and have not been able to take full advantage of the expertise that the NCA can provide.Progress on this issue ultimately depends on the political parties reaching agreement, and the Justice Minister, David Ford MLA, continues to lead efforts to achieve that. I fully support those efforts; it is not acceptable that Northern Ireland lacks the same protection from serious and organised crime as the rest of the UK.

Invest NI

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when and where she last met the Chief Executive of Invest NI.

Mrs Theresa Villiers: My officials have regular discussions with Invest NI officials on a number of different issues including attracting investment and access to finance. I have also met the Chief Executive at a range of events.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Manufacturing Industries: Females

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more women to work in the manufacturing sector.

Matthew Hancock: The Government recognises the need to encourage more women into the manufacturing sector and we support a number of initiatives in this area. We have run two engineering skills funds for employers – “Improving Engineering Careers" and “Developing Women Engineers”. Applications are currently being assessed, with successful employers due to be informed in January. Our ‘Your Life Call to Action’ campaign has been joined by over 200 companies, pledging to improve women’s recruitment, retention and progression in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) professions. STEMNET runs the STEM Ambassador programme, a network of 28,000 volunteers from industry and academia who visit schools, illustrating STEM careers and advising teachers. Over 40% (over 11,200) of STEM Ambassadors are women. We fund STEMNET to run a number of programmes, including the STEM Ambassador’s programme to the sum of £6.3m per year. See Inside Manufacturing (SIM) allows young people to experience modern advanced manufacturing and engineering, the programme actively encourages businesses to open their doors to the next generation of engineers and in particular young women.

City Link

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received calling for City Link to be taken into public ownership; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Department received a large volume of identical emails, many from abroad, which included a call to take the company into public ownership.While there were no grounds for doing so, this is clearly a worrying time for City Link workers and their families and the Government’s focus is on supporting those being made redundant.The Department for Work and Pensions is engaging with the administrator and unions to make sure City Link employees and self-employed drivers are aware of the support available to help them back into work, including Job Centre Plus’ Rapid Response Service.

Fossil Fuels

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what loans were made by UK Export Finance for fossil fuel energy exploration or fossil fuel power generation projects in 2014; what assessment was made of the carbon footprint of each such project prior to the loan being agreed; and whether sustainability or environmental impact assessments were made of those projects before the loans were granted.

Matthew Hancock: In 2014 UK Export Finance (UKEF) has provided two guarantees for export credit loans made by banks for the supply of remote operated vehicles (ROVs) (£14.1m) and a pipe-laying vessel (£61m) to Nigeria and Brazil respectively for general use and not related to a specific project but which may be used in connection with oil exploration and production. When UKEF is asked to support a project, it applies the OECD Recommendation on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (the OECD Common Approaches) where this is required. It informs the way in which member Export Credit Agencies should address the environmental social and human rights (ESHR) impacts of projects at a defined location which they are asked to support. However, in the case of the ROVs and pipe-laying vessel, there is no specific project or fixed location in which they would be operated to make it possible to assess environmental impacts. Therefore, in line with the OECD Common Approaches, an impact assessment was not carried out.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he intends to reply to the letter dated 25 November 2014, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms C Gazelet, forwarded from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jo Swinson: A reply to the Rt. Hon. Member was sent on 15 January.

Land: Registration

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of UK land was registered on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: On 31 December 2014 Land Registry figures for England and Wales show that 85.56% of land was registered. The Registers of Scotland and the Land and Property Service Northern Ireland have their own separate departments and legislation for land registration.

City Link

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of City Link on subcontractors reliant on City Link.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



This is clearly a very worrying time for those who were reliant on City Link for work, including its subcontractors.   Any subcontractor with invoices unpaid by City Link will rank as an unsecured creditor and should send details of their claim to the administrator. The administrator has also been providing information to creditors to advise them on what they need to do to notify their claims to him.   Employees employed directly by City Link and those sub-contracted to them are eligible for consideration of Rapid Response Service support.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the statement by his Department to the Today programme on 7 January 2015, what steps his Department is taking to name and shame care providers who do not pay the national minimum wage.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will instruct HM Revenue and Customs to investigate non-compliance with the national minimum wage in the care sector.

Jo Swinson: The Government will name all employers that do not comply with National Minimum Wage regulations unless they meet one of the exceptional circumstances or have arrears of £100 or less. The Government has named 92 employers, including a care provider. Between them they owed workers a total of over £316,000 in arrears and have been charged financial penalties totalling over £111,000. Social care cases tend to be more complex than other cases so it can take longer for them to progress through the enforcement and naming process. We will continue to name and shame employers, including those operating in the care sector. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are undertaking targeted enforcement work in the care sector, building on previous work that successfully identified non-compliant businesses. Between 2011 and 2013, HMRC investigated 224 employers in the care sector. Just over half of these were found to be non-compliant – between them owing £1,319,729 arrears of pay to 6,550 workers, with penalties issued with a total value of £146,931. There are 94 investigations currently underway in the care sector. In addition to this enforcement activity, we continue to do other work to improve minimum wage compliance in the care sector – to provide guidance to employers so that they understand the law, including tips about the most common mistakes and the records they need to keep to prove they are paying their staff correctly. We also encourage and support care sector workers who have been underpaid to make a complaint, using the free and confidential Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Any worker who is concerned that they have not received what they are entitled to should call the helpline on 0800 917 2368. HMRC follow up every complaint.

City Link

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2015 to Question 219632, whether his Department received any direct or indirect information from people or organisations other than City Link or the administrators (a) orally or (b) in writing before 23 December 2014 that there was a possibility of City Link being placed into administration.

Matthew Hancock: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Apprentices

Mr John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students started a level 4 apprenticeship in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12 in each parliamentary constituency.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Apprentices

Mr John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students started a level 5 apprenticeship in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12 in each parliamentary constituency.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Apprentices

Mr John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students started a level 6 apprenticeship in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12 in each parliamentary constituency.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Students: Finance

Dr Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that students undertaking a level 6 diploma in professional dance are consistently regarded as being in higher or further education for the purpose of housing benefit and access to student loans and financial support.

Nick Boles: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value is of assets on her Department's balance sheets as a result of the use of returnable capital.

Justine Greening: This information is published in the DFID annual report at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/331591/annual-report-accounts-2013-14a.pdf .

International Assistance

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, who will represent the (a) UK and (b) EU at each of the international meetings in 2015 that will work on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals process.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK will be represented by the UK Envoy on post-2015 as well as other senior officials from DFID at the international meetings in 2015 on the post-2015 sustainable development goals. Who will represent the EU is still under discussion in Brussels.

International Assistance

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the European Commission will be responsible for negotiating the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals on behalf of Member States.

Mr Desmond Swayne: In line with the General Arrangements for EU Statements in multilateral organisations, once the intergovernmental negotiations start, the UK will negotiate as part of the EU while retaining the right to speak nationally where appropriate.

International Assistance

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the composition of the EU negotiation team for the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals will be; and how many UK representatives at each level of seniority will be permanently appointed to that team.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The composition of the EU negotiating team is still subject to member state approval.

Department for Education

Pre-school Education

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to support parents in bolstering the cognitive development of their children before they reach primary school.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Research shows that parental involvement in early learning as part of daily family life has a critical impact on children’s well-being and achievement.The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework requires a child’s key worker to seek to engage and support parents and/or carers in guiding their child’s development at home. They should also help families engage with more specialist support if appropriate. Ofsted inspect registered providers against these requirements. The Department recognises early education improves the life chances of children and that is why we have extended free childcare to around 40% of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds. This means more parents than ever are benefitting from being in regular contact with an early years practitioner and understand what to expect and how to support their child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development. The Department encourages early years providers, including children centres, to use their outreach services in promoting the importance of a positive early home learning environment to parents. I am also working closely with Ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health to ensure that closer working between early years practitioners and Health Visitors means that parents can benefit from both sets of professional expertise in getting a rounded picture of their child’s development at age two. This new policy of integrated reviews supports early intervention, which we know can improve outcomes. Working with Public Health England I plan to provide more information to parents to help them understand the developmental milestones and expectations for young children, and help them to feel more confident in how they can support that development as parents.

Science: Females

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the study of STEM subjects by girls; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Government is determined to ensure all young people have access to a range of options across a variety of subjects. This includes increasing the number of young people studying science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects post-16, and in particular the number of girls studying these subjects. While similar numbers of girls and boys take science and mathematics GCSEs, and achieve similar results, many fewer girls than boys progress to physics and mathematics A levels. For example, last summer some 130,000 students studied physics GCSE (64,000 girls and 66,000 boys), but at A level, this had dropped to just 25,000 boys and 7,000 girls.   There are some positive signs. A record number of students are now studying science A levels, with mathematics being the most popular subject. Since 2010 A level entries by female students have risen in all STEM subjects: mathematics entries have risen by 10%; physics by 16%; chemistry by 23%; and biology by 16%.   To encourage greater take up of STEM subjects among girls, we are taking a range of measures. On 7 May 2014, the “Your Life” campaign (www.yourlife.org.uk) was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. “Your Life” is an independent campaign involving some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs and leading employers. The campaign aims to increase significantly the numbers taking A level physics and maths within three years. This will enable tens of thousands more students, and in particular female students, to gain degrees in engineering, physics and maths and have successful careers in these fields. As part of our overall drive to increase take up of STEM subjects post-16, the Government is also funding the Stimulating Physics Network and the Further Maths Support Programme. The STEM Ambassadors Programme (funded by BIS) is raising awareness among children of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer, and 40% of STEM ambassadors are women. The Department is also supporting programmes such as the expansion of the STEM Club network which is aimed at engaging 11- to 14-year-olds to explore and discover STEM subjects. The Big Bang science and engineering fair attracted over 60,000 people in 2013, of whom 54% were girls. To improve teaching of STEM subjects we have introduced bursaries of up to £25,000 and scholarships worth £25,000 to attract top science and maths graduates into teaching.

Literacy: Stourbridge

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils in each primary school in Stourbridge constituency met the required standard of phonic decoding in the 2013-14 academic year.

Mr Nick Gibb: School level performance in the phonics screening check is not published in the performance tables. Schools are not held to account for their performance in this diagnostic check, although they do have to inform parents of their child’s result in the way they think most suitable. The results are available on www.raiseonline.org for schools to use and for local authorities and Ofsted as part of their inspections process.   The overall proportion of pupils attending schools in Stourbridge constituency who met the required standard of phonics decoding by the end of year 1 in the 2013/14 academic year was 77%. Nationally 74% of year 1 pupils met the required standard of phonic decoding in the 2013/14 academic year.

World War II: Curriculum

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on keeping Holocaust education part of the national curriculum.

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January 2015.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Holocaust remains a compulsory part of the new national curriculum for history which was introduced in September 2014. On 13 January the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government is committed to continuing to fund the Holocaust Educational Trust’s valuable ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project in the next Parliament.   To mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and with the help of the Holocaust Educational Trust, the Department held an event for staff on 15 January for Holocaust Memorial Day. A Holocaust survivor and two of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s young ambassadors gave presentations to staff.

Truancy

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils in England in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were classed as persistent truants in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not collect data on truancy.Information on the number and proportion of pupils classified as persistent absentees in the 2012/13 academic year is published in the “Pupil absence in schools in England: 2012 to 2013” Statistical First Release[1].[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-2012-to-2013

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children of what ages went missing from care in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Edward Timpson: The number of children looked after who went missing from their agreed placement for more than 24 hours during the year ending 31 March 2014 by age is shown in the below table. It is known in some cases that younger children who go missing from their agreed placement are the children of mothers who are themselves looked after. Looked after children who went missing from their agreed placement by age1,2,3,4,5Year ending 31 March 2014Coverage: EnglandAll children looked afterduring the year 97,950All children looked afterwho went missing duringthe year2,420  Under 1101 to 4205 to 92010 to 151,10016 & over1,270  Source: SSDA903 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.2. Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.3. Where a child went missing from his/her placement on more than one occasion during the year, the child has only been counted once during the year.4. Data on children missing from their agreed placement are known to be under reported for some local authorities. The Department for Education is currently engaged in a process to improve the reporting for this group of vulnerable children.5. The number of looked after children who have a period where they are classed as being missing from their agreed placement for a period of more than 24 hours which started during the year ending 31 March.

Sixth Form Education

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools opened a new sixth form in the last four years.

Mr David Laws: Since September 2011, 58 new school sixth forms have been established and 111 academies’ requests to open a sixth form have been approved. Local authorities are responsible for making these decisions in relation to maintained schools. The Secretary of State (and more recently the Regional Schools Commissioners on her behalf) is responsible for making these decisions in relation to academies. The numbers of new sixth forms are as follows.   Year & TypeNumber 2011/12 New school sixth forms24New academy sixth forms332012/13 New school sixth forms19New academy sixth forms182013/14 New school sixth forms13New academy sixth forms312014/15 New school sixth forms2New academy sixth forms29

Ministry of Justice

Prison Service

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers (a) work in each prison and (b) are authorised to work in each prison at the latest date for which figures are available.

Mike Penning: Information on the number of prison officers working in each pubic sector prison is published in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin (table 10). The bulletin can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics All members of staff have the appropriate authorisation to work in prisons.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner claims for damage for possessions or injury sustained during acts of concerted indiscipline were settled in each year since 2010; what the total value of those claims was in each such year; what the largest single amount paid to a prisoner under such a claim was in each such year; and to what type of incident each of those payments related.

Mike Penning: An answer to this question can only be provided at disproportionate cost. We do not record concerted indiscipline as category when making payments through the civil litigation process. Moreover, compensation payments to prisoners for lost or damaged property can be made through civil litigation, internal complaints, or as a result of recommendations made by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman and by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. To determine the total amount of compensation payments made would require a trawl through thousands of records held at every public sector prison and in NOMS headquarters.

Prisons: Crimes of Violence

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner claims relating to assaults by fellow prisoners were settled in each year since 2010; what the total value of those claims was; and what the largest single amount paid to a prisoner under such a claim was in each such year.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff claims relating to assaults by prisoners were settled in each year since 2010; what the total value of those claims was in each such year; and what the largest single amount paid to a staff member under such a claim was in each such year.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoner claims relating to assaults by staff were in each year since 2010; what the total value of those claims was in each such year; and what the largest single amount paid to a prisoner under such a claim was in each such year.

Mike Penning: It has not been possible to answer these questions within the timeframe. I will write to the Hon. member in due course and a copy of the response will be placed in the Library.

Staff: Newport

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of 12 January 2015 to Questions 220031 and 220032 on shared services staff in Newport, which departments have signed up to the arrangement.

Mike Penning: The Government departments listed below are currently signed up to the arrangement.HMRC and its associated departments;Home Office and its associated departments;Intellectual Patent Office;Health and Safety Executive;Business Innovation and Skills;Insolvency Service; andOffice of National Statistics.

Young Offenders: Foreign Nationals

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals are in UK (a) young offender institutions and (b) secure children's homes.

Mike Penning: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) work closely with the Home Office in identifying and managing under-18 foreign national offenders. The number of foreign nationals in under-18 Young Offender Institutions is 69 (based on the most recent snapshot from data held by MoJ, taken in September 2014). The number of foreign nationals in YJB commissioned places in Secure Children’s Homes is 5 (based on the most recent snapshot from data held by YJB, taken in November 2014).

Criminal Justice (Electronic Monitoring) (Responsible Person) Order 2014

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the naming of specific companies in the Criminal Justice (Electronic Monitoring) (Responsible Person) Order 2014 is legal under EU competition law.

Mike Penning: The procurement competition which appointed the company named on the current Order as the provider of electronic monitoring services was carried out in accordance with EU procurement law. The Order reflects the outcome of that procurement process by making the named company the person responsible for monitoring offenders who are subject to an electronic requirement where a court decides to impose such a requirement as part of certain sentences named in the Order.

Prime Minister

Radicalism

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to Answer of 9 January 2015 to Question 219820, for what reasons his Answer refers to a section of a transcript which does not contain the 25 recommendations made by the Extremism Taskforce; and how many of these recommendations have been fully implemented.

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his Answer to Question 68 of his evidence to the Liaison Committee on 16 December 2014, HC 887, whether Ministers have reported back on any failure to implement any of the 25 recommendations of the Extremism Taskforce.

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to Answer of 9 January 2015 to Question 219820, for what reason that Answer refers to a section of a transcript which does not name the Minister responsible for each of the 25 recommendations of the Extremism Taskforce.

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to Answer of 9 January 2015 to Question 219820, for what reason that Answer refers to a section of a transcript which does not name the Minister responsible across Government for overseeing the implementation of the Extremism Taskforce.

Mr David Cameron: The Extremism Task Force, which I chair, enables a cross-Government, coherent response to the threat facing the UK and the pressing need to tackle the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism. As the chair of the Task Force, each responsible Minister reports to me on their progress in delivering their Departmental priorities to tackle extremism. The recommendations by the Task Force were published in December 2013 and can be found on the gov.uk website. As I have previously set out, the vast majority of the recommendations have been implemented. The fact that agreement has not been reached across the Coalition on two recommendations - the introduction of civil banning orders in relation to both extremist groups and individuals - is well-documented. The Task Force is supported by a secretariat in Cabinet Office to drive Departmental progress on actions arising from those discussions. I receive regular updates on implementation.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department was of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions, (c) employer's National Insurance contributions and (d) operational allowances for all ranks of officers in each of the armed forces in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: Holding answer received on 17 December 2014



The pay costs for officers in each of the Armed Forces over the period 2010-11 to 2013-14 inclusive have been attached. These costs represent expenditure on the regular cadre. Expenditure on reservists is not accounted for by rank or Arm of Service, and is therefore not included in the attached figures.   Expenditure on operational allowances is also not accounted for by rank or Arm of Service. However, annual expenditure for all ranks and all Arms of Service has been as follows:   Expenditure Category 2010-11 (£ million) 2010-12 (£ million) 2012-13 (£ million) 2013-14 (£ million) Operational Allowance 113.2 144.7 127.6 69.6 Campaign Continuity Allowance (includes Op Herrick Drawdown Allowance) 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7  



218146 - Armed Forces pay costs for Officers
(Word Document, 33 KB)

Military Bases: Children

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many children live on (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy, (c) Marines and (d) Royal Air Force bases (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Military Bases: Families

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many families are resident on (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy, (c) Marines and (d) Royal Air Force bases (i) in the UK and (ii) abroad.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nigeria

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department is offering to Nigeria to help combat Boko Haram.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

West Africa: Ebola

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure members of the armed forces helping with the Ebola outbreak have adequate protection against the disease.

Mr Mark Francois: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nuclear Submarines: Decommissioning

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement of 13 January 2015, HCWS183, by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, whether he expects any changes to the programme for the Submarine Dismantling Project as a result of changes announced to NDA Management at Sellafield.

Mr Philip Dunne: There will be no changes to the programme of the Submarine Dismantling Project (SDP) as a result of changes announced to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's management at Sellafield.The assessment of each shortlisted site for the interim storage of Intermediate Level radioactive Waste arising from the SDP will take account of the site operator's ability to meet and deliver the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) requirement. The site assessment work is at an early stage; no decision has been made as to the final interim storage location.The MOD will continue to work closely with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority on the SDP.

Department for Work and Pensions

Employment and Support Allowance

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in England who had been waiting more than 90 days to be assessed for employment and support allowance in each of the last 12 months.

Mr Mark Harper: The information requested is shown in the table below: Number of initial Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims where the assessment was completed by length of assessment period and month completed, England, Apr 13 - Mar 14 Month completedTotalLength of assessment periodUnknown91 days and underOver 91 daysJan-1421,8004,0001,60016,300Feb-1419,2003,8001,40013,900Mar-1420,9004,3001,30015,200 Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset. Notes:Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.The period cohorts allocate ESA claims to the calendar month that the assessment was completed. March 2014 is the latest data available.Those still waiting for an assessment to be completed are not included in the figures above.In approximately of 10% of claims the length of the assessment period is unknown due to missing or incomplete information.The data presented above comes from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions. It related to new ESA claims only; Incapacity Benefit (IB) claims reassessments are not included.As the Official Statistics on ESA and the Work Capability Assessments do not focus on benefit durations, the underlying data used to provide the information has not been quality assured to the same level, and should be treated with caution.

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the letter from the Minister for Welfare Reform to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar dated 3 November 2014 regarding the payment of funds to people with mesothelioma, by what process he decided what costs  to insurers of compensating those people were fair and appropriate.

Mr Mark Harper: The Mesothelioma Act 2014 currently allows a levy to be applied to the insurance industry to fund a payment scheme for those affected by the failure of the employers’ liability insurance market to maintain adequate records. Given that the insurers who are paying the levy to fund the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme are not necessarily the same ones who took the premiums that paid for the historical insurance policies, the costs to them must be fair and proportionate. Each year the levy will be estimated at a level which the Department believes is sufficient to cover the actual costs of running the Scheme. That is, the cost of its administration and the cost of the capital payments that are made to diffuse mesothelioma sufferers or their dependants. In any one year the levy will not exceed 3% of employers’ liability gross written premium as this is the point at which the insurance industry said that it would have to pass on the costs of the levy via increased premiums. Further information on the costs of the Scheme and information about the levy and how it was calculated will be included in the first annual report on the Scheme which will be published on or before 30th November 2015.

Access to Work Programme

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will reform the Access to Work system so that packages of support can transfer from job to job with the individual.

Mr Mark Harper: We have already reformed the scheme to enable easier transfers of support between different jobs and employers. In 2013 we introduced a fast-track assessment process so that individuals who already know their support requirements will move swiftly through their application. At the same time we also made it easier to transfer equipment so that individuals can move more easily between employers with their special aids and equipment.

Personal Independence Payment

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment claimants will be seen for a medical assessment within 16 weeks by 31 December 2014.

Mr Mark Harper: Holding answer received on 17 December 2014



 The Department intends to release PIP clearance time and waiting/outstanding time statistics for the first time in March 2015 with the release pre-announced in line with United Kingdom Statistics Authority release protocols.

Work Capability Assessment

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the procurement for a new provider to deliver the work capability assessment requires the design of that scheme to be revised or reformed.

Mr Mark Harper: Holding answer received on 17 December 2014



 The initial priority for MAXIMUS Health and Human Services Ltd will be to transition the service smoothly from the current provider, Atos Healthcare, and stabilise the service for claimants, increase the volume of assessments carried out and reduce waiting times without compromising quality. We will work closely with MAXIMUS to enhance claimants’ experience of the service. Any lessons learned or innovations that can improve services while delivering the best results possible for claimants may lead to changes in processes.

Social Security Benefits: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of benefit fraud which was attributable to identity fraud for each benefit in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire,(c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 2005 for which figures are available.

Mr Mark Harper: As no central record is kept detailing the information the MP is requesting, this information could only be provided by examining individual investigation files. This could only be conducted at disproportionate time and cost.

Widowed Parents Allowance

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment of proposed changes to the widowed parent's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Bereavement benefits including Widowed Parent’s Allowance will be replaced by Bereavement Support Payment from April 2017. Those already in receipt of the existing benefit will not be affected by the change. An impact assessment was published in April 2014: “Replacement of existing Bereavement Benefits for New Claims from April 2017 – Bereavement Benefits for the 21st Century (in Great Britain)”https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/311318/pensions-act-ia-annex-d-bereavement-support-payment.pdf

Children: Maintenance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have appealed against child maintenance decisions since the introduction of the mandatory reconsideration period.

Steve Webb: For cases managed by the Child Support Agency (1993/2003 Schemes) figures on the number of people who have appealed against child maintenance decisions since the introduction of mandatory reconsideration is published in table 18 (page 46) of the latest Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, which contains data up to September 2014. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics on the 2012 Scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, but when system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Independent Living Fund: Northern Ireland

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the abolition of the Independent Living Fund on previous claimants of that fund in Northern Ireland.

Mr Mark Harper: The potential implications of closing the Independent Living Fund on 30 June 2015 are set out clearly in the Equality Analysis published on 6 March 2014.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-the-independent-living-fund-equality-analysisThe Northern Ireland Executive is consulting on future arrangements for supporting Independent Living Fund users in Northern Ireland.

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Labour Market Statistics, table BEN01, published in December 2014, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the number of claimants of employment and support allowance and other incapacity benefits was higher in May 2014 than in May 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Harper: Since May 2010, the ESA caseload has fallen by 5.5% or 143,000 claimants. The small increase of less than 1% from May 13 to May 14 was largely driven by WCA supplier capacity issues, which we have taken steps to address by removing and replacing the supplier appointed by the previous government.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what conclusions his Department has drawn from the Universal Credit in-work conditionality pilots which started in 2014.

Esther McVey: The initial trials shaped and informed the design of the larger-scale Randomised Controlled Trials that we plan to run in Universal Credit from April 2015, from which conclusions about effective in-work support will start to be drawn.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sub-contractors were engaged in the Work Programme at the most recent stocktake of that programme.

Esther McVey: From the last published Stock take (Sept 2013 data published in November 2013), there are 858 organisations delivering 1,322 sub-contracts.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of annual housing benefit payments per applicant was in (a) Glasgow North constituency, (b) the city of Glasgow and (c) Scotland in each year since 2010.

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much housing benefit was paid to applicants in (a) Glasgow North constituency, (b) the city of Glasgow and (c) Scotland in each year from 2010 to 2014.

Steve Webb: The information is in the tables below. Table 1: Housing Benefit expenditure, £millions NominalReal terms 2014/15 pricesExpenditure £mGlasgow NorthCity of GlasgowScotlandGlasgow NorthCity of GlasgowScotland2010/11N/A337.01,660.6N/A361.71,782.42011/1231.4338.31,727.733.1356.71,821.82012/1332.9347.71,788.834.1360.71,855.32013/1433.6347.71,770.234.2354.11,802.8 Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract and Local Authority subsidy returns. Notes:1. Benefit expenditure is available for financial years only.2. Housing Benefit expenditure by Parliamentary Constituency is not available prior to 2011/12.3. Figures at 2014/15 prices are deflated using GDP deflators published following the 2014 Autumn Statement at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/383988/GDP_Deflators_Autumn_Statement_December_2014_update.xls4. Information for the city of Glasgow and Scotland is available in the “Benefit Expenditure by Local Authority from 2000/01 to 2013/14” tables at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014  Table 2: Average annual Housing Benefit payment per applicant NominalReal terms 2014/15 prices Glasgow NorthCity of GlasgowScotlandGlasgow NorthCity of GlasgowScotland2010/11N/A£3,670£3,470N/A£3,940£3,7302011/12£3,630£3,680£3,550£3,830£3,880£3,7402012/13£3,740£3,760£3,640£3,870£3,900£3,7702013/14£3,800£3,760£3,610£3,870£3,830£3,670Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract Notes:1. All amounts in this table have been rounded to the nearest £102. Housing Benefit information by Parliamentary Constituency is not available prior to 2011.3. Figures at 2014/15 prices are deflated using GDP deflators published following the 2014 Autumn Statement and published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/383988/GDP_Deflators_Autumn_Statement_December_2014_update.xls

Social Security Benefits

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hardship payments were made to sanctioned jobseeker's allowance claimants in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

State Retirement Pensions

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who will reach state pension age within 12 months from the start of the single tier pension who will be eligible to receive state pension at the full rate; and what proportion of the total number of recipients those people will be.

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) women and (b) men who will reach state pension age within 12 months from the start of the single tier pension who will be eligible to receive state pension at the full rate.

Steve Webb: I will respond to the Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East shortly.

Occupational Pensions

Mr William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish a list of the high charging pension schemes referred to by the Independent Project Board in its report, Defined contribution workplace pensions: The audit of charges and benefits in legacy schemes, published in December 2014.

Steve Webb: The recent audit of charges and benefits in legacy pension schemes was undertaken by an Independent Project Board, on which the Department for Work and Pensions was represented. The data collected as part of the legacy audit which was shared with members of the Independent Project Board was aggregated and anonymised. We do not therefore hold provider or scheme specific information.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Hunting

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 219164, which part of the Hunting Act 2004 she referred to as containing an exemption which makes it legal to hunt and kill foxes with a pack of dogs for sport.

George Eustice: The Hunting Act 2004 sets out several classes of exempt hunting under which dogs may be used to hunt wild mammals, subject to strict conditions. The full details of the Hunting Act exemptions are available online at:http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/37/schedule/1.Following the introduction of the Hunting Act, many hunts also use an artificially laid scent to simulate the path that would be taken by a fox during traditional hunting activity. This is one way in which hunts are able to continue to meet and exercise their hounds.

Community Impact Bucks

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make funds available to Community Impact Bucks for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to replace the funding that has been withdrawn from Action with Communities in Rural England from March 2015.

Dan Rogerson: We value the work that the Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) network does at the local level to ensure the rural voice is heard and to inspire community action. Future funding is being carefully considered and no final decision has yet been made.

Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish a consultation document for the 2015 review of the Greyhound Regulations (England) 2010.

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what groups and organisations she plans to consult in the 2015 review of the Greyhound Regulations (England) 2010.

George Eustice: Defra will be shortly going out to key animal welfare and greyhound industry stakeholders to collect evidence on the effectiveness of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010. Defra then plans to hold a public consultation on the implications of the evidence collected in early summer, with the aim of publishing the final findings of the review later in 2015.

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to announce whether Natural England's Variation Orders of 2012 extending the boundaries of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks will be confirmed.

Dan Rogerson: A public inquiry into Natural England’s proposals to extend the boundaries of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales national parks was held in June 2013. The inspector’s report has been submitted to Defra and is now being considered. The Secretary of State will issue her decisions in due course.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government: West Midlands

Sir Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the consequences will be for (a) Worcestershire County Council, (b) the Worcestershire LEP and (c) the district councils of South Worcestershire of the full implementation of the recommendations of the review by Sir Bob Kerslake of the governance and organisational capabilities of Birmingham City Council.

Kris Hopkins: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



Membership of any proposed combined authority is a matter for local discretion. There is no compulsion for any local authority to join such a locally-led partnership. The governance structure of a combined authority would need to be agreed by its potential members, and it would need to meet the necessary statutory tests. It would then be for Parliament to approve any necessary legislative order establishing such an authority.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many houses have been built under the Government's proposal to replace every house sold under its right to buy arrangements; and how many houses have been sold under those arrangements.

Brandon Lewis: This Government have committed to re-invest, for the first time ever, the additional receipts from Right to Buy sales in new affordable rented housing. Our aim, across England as a whole, is to deliver a new home for each additional home sold under the reinvigorated Right to Buy. The one-for-one replacement policy applies to additional local authority sales, that is sales above the level forecast before the reinvigoration of the policy in April 2012. Since the reinvigoration, local authorities have sold 14,700 additional sales, and over 4,795 dwellings have already been started on site or acquired. There will be a time lag between the Right to Buy sale, and the planning and construction of the new build home, but the replacement timetable is in control of the local authority. If a council were to fail to spend the receipts within three years, it would be required to return the unspent money to Government with interest. This provides a strong financial incentive for any slow-coach councils to use this new funding and get on with building more homes for local people. Since 2010, a total of 217,000 new affordable homes have been delivered in England. Council house building is now at a 23 year high; almost twice as much council housing has been built under this Government, than in all of the 13 years combined of the last Labour Government.

Official Cars

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the carbon emissions of officials cars used by Ministers in his Department since May 2010.

Kris Hopkins: This information is not centrally recorded. However, given this Government has cut Ministerial car use by two-thirds since 2010 compared to the last Administration, we would expect the reduction in emissions to be of a similar magnitude. In due course, my Department will be supporting the Government Car Service’s project to switch to ultra-low emission vehicles.

Training

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many staff away days have been attended by Ministers in his Department since October 2013.

Kris Hopkins: Ministers from my Department have not attended any away days.I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 December 2014, to Question, UIN 205289, on how we have cut the cost of Departmental away days from £196,585 in 2008-09 and £137, 678 in 2009-10 to zero in 2014.

Sports

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many departmental sports days have been attended by Ministers in his Department since May 2010.

Kris Hopkins: Ministers from my Department have not attended any sports days organised by the Sports and Recreational Association.

Publications

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what newspapers, periodicals and magazines his Department purchases for the use of Ministers.

Kris Hopkins: In 2010, we consolidated the seven separate sets of newspapers previously ordered by the Ministerial group under the last Administration, into one single shared set of newspapers and periodicals for Ministers and special advisers. This has reduced spending from £23,000 in 2009-10 to £2,700 in 2013-14. The consolidated set now covers the Daily Express, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, Local Government Chronicle, Municipal Journal, Planning, PR Week, Spectator, Sun and The Times. I also refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2013, Official Report, columns 386-7W which outlines the significant savings delivered on spending on press cuttings, and to the answer of 15 July 2013, Official Report, column 501W, on the savings we have made across departmental periodicals as a whole.

Planning Permission: Appeals

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many recovered planning appeals he has upheld in each of the last five years.

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many recovered planning appeals he has refused in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: To assist the hon. Member, the attached table shows the figures for recovered appeals for the last ten years. To place these figures in context, in 2013-14, 15,982 planning and enforcement appeals were decided by planning inspectors, whilst just 149 appeals (0.9%) were decided by Ministers. Where an appeal is dismissed, the application is refused in line with the original decision by the local authority to reject the planning application (non-determination appeals excepted). The number of recovered appeals has increased in the last year in light of the intentionally revised recovery criteria (as explained to Parliament in previous Written Ministerial Statements) to consider recovering more appeals in relation to traveller sites in the Green Belt, and on renewable energy. All decisions are made with due process, based on the material considerations of the case.



Table of Planning Appeals
(Word Document, 21.85 KB)

Planning Permission

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of homes planned for in development applications which were refused by the Secretary of State in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: We have made no such estimate.

Solar Power: Planning Permission

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of solar farm planning applications (a) received planning approval and (b) were called in in (i) 2013 and (ii) 2014.

Kris Hopkins: Although the Department routinely collects information from local planning authorities on the numbers of planning applications decided and granted each quarter, the numbers relating to solar farms are not separately identified. No planning applications were called in for solar farm development in 2013 and one application for solar energy development was called in by the Secretary of State during 2014.

Social Rented Housing: Emergency Services

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department gives to local authorities and housing associations on emergency access to tower blocks and flats for emergency services.

Stephen Williams: Requirement B5 of the Building Regulations provides for adequate access for the fire and rescue service. My Department publishes Approved Document B which gives detailed guidance on compliance with this requirement and is available on the Planning Portal website. www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_B2_2013.pdfGuidance on Fire Safety in Purpose Built Blocks of Flats produced by the Local Government Association, in conjunction with the housing and fire sectors, is available on the Government’s fire safety webpage. Advice on ensuring the provision and maintenance of fire fighting facilities, including, vehicle access for fire appliances, is included within this document.www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safety-your-responsibilities/fire-safety-advice-documents

Right to Buy Scheme: Hammersmith and Fulham

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much his Department has spent on marketing for the Right to Buy scheme in (a) Hammersmith and Fulham and (b) Hammersmith constituency in each year since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Government Departments: Procurement

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's guidance on delivering public value from spending proposals, under what circumstances procuring a system precedes completion of the full business case.

Danny Alexander: As set out in HM Treasury’s “The Green Book — appraisal and evaluation in Central Government”, all new policies, programmes and projects should be subject to comprehensive but proportionate assessment, where it is practicable, so as best to promote the public interest. The nature of this assessment will vary according to the nature of the proposal, and is likely to be influenced by factors such as the scale and complexity of the proposed procurement.

Invest NI

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met the Chief Executive of Invest NI.

Mr David Gauke: Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.   Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Pension Wise

Gregg McClymont: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what training agents offering guidance through the Pensions Wise scheme will be given before dealing with enquiries; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke: A high quality and rigorous training programme will ensure all guidance specialists have the required technical knowledge and guidance skills, whether they are delivering guidance face to face or over the phone.   The training programme is being designed in accordance with the standards set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is currently being finalised.

Pension Wise

Gregg McClymont: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who will seek to use the Pensions Wise service in the financial year 2015-16.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is working closely with stakeholders to understand and estimate potential demand for the service, and to build sufficient and flexible capacity in the Pension wise service to meet demand.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Oil: Prices

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps he is taking to encourage energy suppliers to pass on savings made from falling oil prices to consumers.

Matthew Hancock: Holding answer received on 12 January 2015



The Government is closely monitoring whether energy supply companies are passing on to their customers the benefits of plunging oil and gas prices as quickly as possible. I have written to the six largest energy companies to insist this happens, and will meet them shortly. Ofgem has referred the gas and electricity markets to the competition authorities to ensure those markets are working effectively. The Competition and Market Authority has been clear it will be looking at the relationship between wholesale costs and retail prices as part of its investigation.

Wind Power

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what research he has commissioned on the effect of windfarm construction in water catchment areas.

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of potential links between windfarm construction on peat bog soils and pollution of water supplies.

Matthew Hancock: The Department has not commissioned any specific research on the effect of wind farm construction in water catchment areas or on peat bog soils.Applicants for consent for wind farms with an installed capacity of 50MW or more must provide an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Such applications are considered by the Secretary of State for Energy under the Planning Act 2008.Applicants for consent for wind farms with an installed capacity of less than 50MW may be required to produce an EIA at the request of the relevant local authority

Coal: Taxation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the £2 per ton levied by the Coal Board for restoration on every ton of coal sold prior to the privatisation of the coal industry was paid to his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Prior to its sale to private sector purchasers in 1994, the British Coal Corporation was empowered (pursuant to the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946) to license the activities of small-scale, private mining operators and to levy a rent on those operators’ production. Such rents, which varied over time, were a payment for the resource rather than a reserve for subsequent restoration, and it is my understanding that the income they represented was offset against the Corporation’s operating expenditure.

Cabinet Office

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will discuss with his counterparts in the devolved administrations the possibility of extending the National Citizen Services to those administrations.

Mr Rob Wilson: The Government is committed to giving as many young people as possible the chance to take part in this life-changing opportunity. The programme will continue to take place in every English Local Authority in 2015. 2014 saw 504 young people take part in Northern Ireland and 364 young people take part in Wales.My officials and I continue to work closely with the devolved administrations and following successful pilots of the programme the Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development is developing a longer term plan for supporting NCS in Northern Ireland.

Immigration: Eastern Europe

Dr William McCrea: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of citizens of EU member states in Eastern Europe who are resident in the UK.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



ONS Letter to Member - Citizens of EU Member State
(PDF Document, 140.92 KB)

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Television: Licensing

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to prevent households which do not have a television receiving correspondence from the TV licensing Authority threatening them with legal action.

Mr Edward Vaizey: TV Licensing is responsible for all operational decisions regarding enforcement of the licence fee, including correspondence. Any changes to the enforcement regime, including outcomes from the TV Licence Fee Enforcement Review, would need to be considered as a part of the review of the BBC's Royal Charter.

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the County Durham, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Essex and Wokingham phase 2 broadband projects produced coverage maps of their broadband implementation plans at a full 7-digit postcode level.

Mr Edward Vaizey: County Durham, Essex and Berkshire (covering Wokingham) do not yet have contracts in place for their phase 2 broadband projects. Hampshire agreed its contract in November and Oxfordshire agreed its contract in December. Neither of these projects has yet been through the detailed planning and survey stage and they therefore do not have a confirmed deployment plan which would enable a coverage map to be produced.All five have phase 1 coverage maps and links to 7 digit postcode checkers. BDUK has also made available a national 7 digit postcode checker which can be found at: http://gosuperfastchecker.culture.gov.uk/ .

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what work his Department has done with local authorities in County Durham, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Essex and Wokingham to identify, in relation to the broadband rollout, (a) alternative solutions, (b) joint working and fair capital contributions from suppliers and (c) other opportunities to promote competition and value for money.

Mr Edward Vaizey: All the superfast broadband projects supported by the Department are procured through an EU compliant competitive procurement process. The value for money controls include the competitive procurements process itself, in-life cost management and assurance, and independent assurance reviews. The supplier is only compensated to the level required to make the projects commercially viable. If take-up exceeds an agreed baseline, the additional revenues are shared between the supplier and the public sector in proportion to their investments. The supplier takes the risk of take-up being lower than the baseline. The projects are all technology neutral at the procurement stage.In Oxfordshire, as well as the County Council’s broadband project, the Department has supported the Northmoor project with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs through the Rural Community Broadband Fund, and it is providing support to the Cotswold Broadband project in West Oxfordshire.The Department is also supporting market test projects to explore alternative superfast broadband solutions in Phase 3 of the Superfast Broadband Programme. One of those projects is in Hampshire. Details of all the pilot projects in Phase 3 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/321432/Successful_Bids_-_Final_Table.pdf

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the (a) County Durham, (b) Oxfordshire, (c) Hampshire, (d) Essex and (e) Wokingham phase 2 broadband projects received bids or offers from suppliers other than BT.

Mr Edward Vaizey: County Durham, Hampshire and Essex are procuring their phase 2 broadband projects using the broadband framework. BT is the only supplier on the framework.Oxfordshire has undertaken its phase 2 procurement through a change control process using its existing contract which was procured through a process advertised in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEU) independently from the broadband framework.West Oxfordshire is completing its own OJEU procurement with alternative supplier partner Cotswold Broadband.Berkshire (which includes Wokingham) is currently expecting to undertake an independent OJEU procurement exercise, but has yet to issue its invitation to tender.

Broadband

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the cost of phase 2 broadband projects in (a) County Durham, (b) Oxfordshire, (c) Hampshire, (d) Essex and (e) Wokingham will be met by (i) BT, (ii) BDUK and (iii) the relevant local authority.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The funding for Phase 2 of the Superfast Broadband Programme in the five areas areas listed in the question is set out in the table in the attached document. The supplier submits its commercial funding level in its response to the invitation to tender during the procurement. The Department is therefore only able confirm the commercial funding estimates for those projects that have completed their procurements: Oxfordshire and Hampshire. 



Table for PQ220290
(Word Document, 12.5 KB)

Broadband: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the average (a) download and (b) upload speed in East Lancashire was on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom published broadband speeds for counties and unitary authorities with its 2014 infrastructure report at http://infrastructure.ofcom.org.uk/ saying that average download speeds in Lancashire were 20.7 Mbit/s and average upload speeds were 2.8 Mbit/s. Ofcom also published data for individual postcodes at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/research/ir/Fixed_postcode.zip

Broadband

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of work to increase broadband line speeds (a) from below 2 mbps to 10 mbps and (b) above 10 mbps to date.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Government, Local Authority and European Union funding combined has invested over £1.7billion to extend superfast coverage (download speeds of 24Mbps and above) to 95% premises in the UK by the end of 2017. This investment will also see universal coverage of basic broadband (2Mbps). There is no spend specifically to provide download speeds of 10Mbps. BDUK has spent a total of £254.33m to the end of December 2014 on rolling out Superfast Broadband. This includes £127.76m in annual budget transfers to the Devolved Administrations, which may not all have been spent on delivery to date.

Deputy Prime Minister

Local Enterprise Partnerships: Yorkshire and the Humber

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Local Enterprise Partnership on infrastructure funding; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: Holding answer received on 15 January 2015



Following the Chancellor’s announcement of a further £1billion in the Autumn Statement to expand the Growth Deal programme, officials have met with all local enterprise partnerships, including York North Yorkshire and East Riding, to discuss their priorities for the additional Growth Deal funding.  The Growth Deal for York, North Yorkshire and East Riding, announced in July 2014, will see investment of £110m in the area, including investment in key housing and transport infrastructure projects.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Karl McCartney: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what representations his Department has received on allegations of disproportionate investment towards Local Enterprise Partnership board members by (a) the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership and (b) other Local Enterprise Partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Government has received letters from the Hon. Member and from one of his constituents on this subject. I am assured in all cases that the Greater Lincolnshire LEP has taken appropriate steps to ensure propriety, value for money and avoid conflicts of interest.

Department of Health

NHS: Re-employment

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS staff have been made redundant and subsequently re-employed by NHS organisations on a (a) permanent and (b) fixed-term contract basis since the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 came into force.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The current redundancy terms for National Health Service staff were laid down in 2006, however this Government is working to improve value for the tax payer by introducing legislation in the form of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill which is due to receive Royal Assent in March 2015. This Bill allows for recovery of contractual redundancy payments when an individual earning over £100,000 returns to the same subsector (eg NHS or local government) within a year of the termination date. This Bill will come into effect in 2016. The number of NHS staff made redundant between 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2014 (the latest date for which redundancy data is published), and subsequently reemployed on a permanent contract is 618 and on a fixed term contract is 274. These include only those reemployed up until 30 November 2014. The number made redundant over that period is 5,714.   These estimates are derived from unvalidated data from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse, and so only cover redundancies from, and re-employment to those organisations that use ESR. Two NHS trusts do not use ESR.   The figures above relate to redundancies across the whole of the NHS including those as a result of the Health and Social Care Act reforms. However, the Government’s changes to the NHS mean a huge net gain for the taxpayer. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, issued a written ministerial statement on 22 July 2014; Official Reports, column 119WS setting out the costs and benefits of NHS modernisation. The total costs are expected to be no higher than £1.5billion, which includes £456 million spent on staff redundancies to the end of March 2014. Any costs associated with the recent NHS reforms are one-off and dwarfed by the savings they will make: £6.4 billion during this Parliament and £1.5 billion every year thereafter, for patient care. 



NHS Modernisation (Cost and Benefits) WMS
(Word Document, 15.42 KB)

Arthritis

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent research on the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis carried out by Professor Paul-Peter Tak of the Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam.

Norman Lamb: The Department is aware of the research undertaken by Professor Paul-Peter Tak examining vagus nerve stimulation to reduce symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The early findings of a small study involving 20 patients with RA have been promising, but further research will be needed in order to properly understand the effectiveness of this intervention.

General Practitioners

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GP practices informed NHS England they would (a) reduce their opening hours and (b) not offer face-to-face appointments at any point over the 2014-15 Christmas and New Year period.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance NHS England gave GP practices on opening hours during the 2014-15 Christmas and New Year period.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The number of general practitioner (GP) practices that informed NHS England that they would reduce their opening hours and not offer face-to-face appointments at any point over the 2014-15 Christmas and New Year period is not held centrally.   NHS England wrote to all GP practices in September 2014 giving details of expectations over the Christmas and New Year period, including that:   - 24 December 2014 and 31 December 2014 were to be considered normal working days and therefore NHS England expected all practices to be open as normal, along with partner health and social care agencies. - Each practice was required to detail the practice opening times and provide availability for telephone access and face to face appointments. - If a patient was not able to speak to the practice’s receptionist during core hours (08.00-18.30hrs Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays) over the holiday period, the practice should confirm what arrangements were in place to deliver their contractual obligations. - Practices that provided extended hours on 24 or 31 December were reminded that they may wish to move these hours to another day within the week, where it was part of the practice’s broader plans to manage expected demand over that period. - The practice retained responsibility for ensuring that the care provided during core hours was appropriate to meet the reasonable needs of patients. - If the practice was not open during core hours, then patients needed to have absolute clarity about how to access essential services.

Complementary Medicine

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of regulated complementary and alternative medical practitioners to reducing demands on the NHS.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Practitioners of complementary and alternative medicines are not subject to statutory regulation. A working group has been established to consider a number of matters relating to the use of herbal and traditional medicines by practitioners. I know my hon. Friend is a member of this working group.   The findings of the working group will be published in due course, once it has finished its work. Until that working group has reported, no assessment can be made of the contribution of such practitioners to reducing demands on the National Health Service.

Accident and Emergency Departments: East of England

Mr David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many admissions to hospital through A&E with an alcohol-related diagnosis involving people (a) under and (b) over the age of 18 there were in each NHS hospital trust in the East of England in each year since 2005.

Jane Ellison: Information is not available in the format or for the period requested.   Information on the sum of alcohol attributable fractions of finished admission episodes for hospital providers in the east of England with an admission through accident and emergency departments from 2005-06 to 2012-13 is shown in the attached table. 



Alcohol attributable FAEs-2005-13- East of England
(Excel SpreadSheet, 30.3 KB)

Blood: Contamination

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths caused by infection with HIV or hepatitis C through exposure to contaminated blood and blood products.

Jane Ellison: The Review of the Support Available to Individuals Infected with Hepatitis C and/or HIV by NHS-supplied Blood Transfusions or Blood Products and their Dependants, which this Government published in January 2011, included estimates that around 1,300 individuals had been infected with HIV through treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood or blood products, of whom approximately 400 remained alive at the end of 2010. Similarly, it is estimated that around 33,000 individuals may have been infected with hepatitis C, of whom it is estimated that approximately 9,000 remained alive in 2003. The Department does not hold information on the cause of death; however, it is likely that many of those infected with hepatitis C will have died of unrelated causes.

NHS Trust Development Authority

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual (a) salary and (b) pension contribution is of the Chief Executive of the NHS Trust Development Agency; what performance-related measures the salary package for that post includes; and what steps his Department takes to monitor the performance of that Chief Executive.

Jane Ellison: The details of both the salary and pension contributions of the NHS Trust Development Authority’s (NHS TDA’s) Chief Executive are published in the authority’s annual report and accounts, a copy of which is attached. The performance related measures in the Chief Executive’s salary are set out in the DH Pay Framework for Very Senior Managers in Arms-Length Bodies (Special Health Authorities and Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies), a copy of which is also attached. The NHS TDA’s Chief Executive is accountable to the organisations Chair and Board for the delivery of the organisation’s strategic objectives. The Chief Executive and the Chair account to Ministers for NHS TDA’s performance at quarterly Ministerial accountability meetings.   



NHS TDA Annual Reports and Accounts 2013-14
(PDF Document, 1.19 MB)




Pay Framework for Very Senior Managers in ALBs
(PDF Document, 197.52 KB)

Blood: Contamination

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has received any adverse notifications from the Penrose Inquiry relating to people in Scotland infected with hepatitis C and HIV acquired from exposure to contaminated blood and blood products.

Jane Ellison: The Penrose Inquiry has stated that the identities of the recipients of warning letters are confidential. We are therefore unable to either confirm or deny whether the Department has received a warning letter.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2014 to Question 220083, on breast cancer: drugs, when he expects the roundtable event his Department is planning to take place; and whether NICE's report on its feedback will be published after that event.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The roundtable event will take place on 11 February 2015. We understand that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has no plans to publish the feedback, which is intended to inform the discussion at the roundtable event.

Dermatology

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on the long-term use of locum consultants to run dermatology services in England.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department expects National Health Service organisations to have a strong grip on their workforce planning and management across all their specialties including dermatology, making permanent appointments to consultant posts wherever possible. Via Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Authority and the Care Quality Commission, the Department is working with the NHS to reduce trusts’ reliance on temporary staffing including the long term use of locum consultants.

Dermatology

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consultant dermatologists with (a) permanent contracts, (b) agency contracts and (c) other contractual or financial arrangements worked in the NHS on 13 January 2015.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacant consultant dermatologist posts there were in the NHS on 13 January 2015.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Information on vacancies is not collected by the Department. The last annual National Health Service vacancy survey in England was undertaken by the Health and Social Care Information Centre in 2010. The survey was suspended in 2011 and then discontinued in 2013 following the publication of the Fundamental Review of Data Returns, which aimed to reduce the burden of the collection of data from NHS organisations.   Information on the number of consultant dermatologists who hold agency contracts and other contractual or financial arrangements is not held by the Department   The latest annual workforce census data, published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), shows there were 486 directly employed consultant dermatologists working in the NHS in England as at 30 September 2013.   The next census will be published by the HSCIC on the 25 March 2015 and will provide data for September 2014.

Mental Health Services

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will include affective disorders in prescribed specialist services.

Dr Daniel Poulter: In September 2013 the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group (PSSAG) considered a proposal from NHS England that it should commission a specialist complex and refractory affective disorders service. PSSAG considered the service with regard to the four statutory factors set out in the National Health Service Act 2006 (as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012) and was unable to recommend this service for commissioning by NHS England on the basis of the information it had been given. Further information is being sought and the service will be discussed again at a future PSSAG meeting once the additional information has been obtained.

NHS Property Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what target NHS Property Services had for revenue raising in each year since it was established; and how much revenue it raised in each such year.

Jane Ellison: National Health Service Property Services Ltd.’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2013-14, including its income and expenditure accounts, are published on the company’s website at:   www.property.nhs.uk/about-us/publications/   The Income and Expenditure Account shows a deficit of £159 million. This was almost exclusively due to non-cash expenditure items such as the writing down of certain balances transferred in from primary care trusts (PCTs) when the company was established and the PCTs were abolished.   In general though, the company operated on a cost-recovery basis, recovering the costs of holding, managing and servicing properties from tenants and commissioning budgets, effectively continuing the arrangements operated by PCTs. On this basis, the company’s income in 2013-14 was £791 million.   Similar arrangements are operating in 2014-15, and the income budget for this year is £771 million. This is lower than in the previous year because the company has delivered a reduction in the cost to the NHS of holding and operating the portfolio.

Drugs: Safety

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what requirements there are on members of the Committee on Safety of Medicines to declare relevant interests.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Commission of Human Medicines superseded the Committee on Safety of Medicines from 30 October 2005.   The Chair and all members are required to make a full declaration of interests on appointment and annually in line with the Code of Practice. Both the code and declarations are published each year in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 Advisory Bodies Annual Report.   Before and at each meeting members are reminded to declare any interest they might have in the agenda items. Declarations and the type of interest are recorded in the minutes.

Organs: Donors

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for NHS Blood and Transplant to extend the collection of ethnic origin data to all sources of organ donation registration.

Jane Ellison: It is not mandatory for an individual to specify their ethnicity when joining the NHS Organ Donor Register (ODR). However, all registration routes operated by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) ask individuals for their ethnic origin. In addition, NHSBT encourages new and existing registration partners to capture ethnicity where possible, but this can be difficult to implement when ethnicity is not recorded as part of the transaction, such as applications for a driving licence or registration through the Boots Advantage Card.   NHSBT is currently redesigning the ODR from June 2015. This will then enable the capture of the religious affiliation of registrants through its own registration routes. The new ODR will also enable NHSBT to capture ethnicity data in line with classifications of ethnic group used by the Office for National Statistics.

Kidney Diseases: Birmingham

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to sustain Kidney Research UK's Peer Education Programme in Birmingham once the funding from his Department ends.

Jane Ellison: Subject to a successful evaluation of the Peer Education Project in Birmingham, any decision to continue supporting Kidney Research UK will be taken as part of the 2015/16 annual business cycle.

Dermatology

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many consultant dermatologist training posts have been funded in each financial year since 2010; and what assessment he has made of the sufficiency of that number.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) has commissioned 177 specialty training places in dermatology in 2014/15 and intends to maintain this number in 2015/16.   Data on the volume of training places commissioned by strategic health authorities in the period before 2014/15 is not available.   HEE is responsible for workforce planning and education commissioning activity to ensure that the National Health Service in England has available a future workforce in the right numbers, with the right skills, values and behaviours this includes dermatologists.   HEE has recently published its second national workforce plan for England for the period 2015/16 which is built upon the needs of local employers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of Local Education Training Boards have shaped the 13 local plans that are the foundation of the national plan for England. The priorities in the plan are the priorities of the NHS, identified locally and nationally by employers, colleges and other stakeholders.

Social Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to make it a statutory requirement for care providers to make clients aware of the Local Government Ombudsman complaints procedure.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals to introduce a statutory requirement for care providers to publish an annual report on their internal complaints procedures.

Norman Lamb: There are no current plans to introduce a statutory requirement for care providers to make users of services aware of the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) complaints procedure.   In December 2013, the Department set up a Complaints Programme Board to bring together a range of partners across the care system to implement actions which will lead to improvements in complaints handling, as set out in Hard Truths, the Government’s response to the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry.   The LGO is part of this crucial work programme, which has been developed with other national partners to bring about important changes to the way complainants are supported and complaints are handled across the care system.   We do not propose to introduce a statutory requirement for care providers to publish an annual report on their internal complaints procedures. However, Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 requires that providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) must have a system in place for identifying, receiving, handling and responding to complaints and comments made by service users or anyone acting on their behalf.   In particular, service providers must ensure that any complaint made is fully investigated and where practicable, resolved to the satisfaction of the service user or the person acting on their behalf.   CQC’s guidance on complying with this regulation sets out that service users should be aware of the steps they can take if they are not satisfied with the findings or outcome once a complaint has been responded to. This includes their being advised of their right to refer the matter to the LGO.

Women and Equalities

New Businesses: Females

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with other Government departments to support and encourage women entrepreneurs.

Jo Swinson: There are more women-led businesses than ever before. In 2013 990,000 SMEs were either run by women or by a team that was over 50% female, an increase of nearly 140,000 since 2010. But we know more needs to be done, which is why we are working with other Government Departments to increase the number of women who start and grow their own businesses. We have, for example, recently created a new ‘Women in Enterprise’ web page http://www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/women-in-enterprise/ with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and as part of our Great Business campaign are specifically targeting female entrepreneurs so they are aware of what Government and other organisations have to offer. We have also provided £1.6m to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to encourage more women in rural areas to start and grow their own businesses and have provided £1m to fund the Women in Broadband Challenge Fund to support women to move their businesses online. Women are also benefiting from the full range of business support available from government, including Start-Up Loans where 37% of lending has gone to women.